New to Cordoba

JorgeJ Active member

38POSTS

14 years ago

Hi everyone!

I was born in Argentina but left to live in the States at age 5. For the past 30 years I lived in Florida and spent the last 4 years living in NYC but on June 2012 I returned to Argentina.

Having been raised in the United States has made the transition to my new life in Argentina a little difficult. I still talk in English with one other expat who joined me in my new life. Even when I'm out on the street. My family keeps telling me to slowly start talking in Castillian (Argentinian Spanish) but I'm a little pigheaded

. I've begun teaching English to a couple of people as a way of earning cash (or in this case, pesos).

It's a very different lifestyle. People in Argentina, or at least in Cordoba, have a very relaxed way of going about their business whereas in New York everything was always such a rush, rush, rush!!!

Has anyone else had an issue with personal space when they go out? I find that people here tend to get so close they are pratically rubbing up against you. I would say that's one of the hardest things I have had to adjust to. Well, then there's Dunkin Donuts, Barnes and Noble, Starbucks and Best Buy which I miss.

Oh, I'm also a closeted Doctor Who fan. I love British shows but that's not really something I can tell people around here, specially my family who still can't get past the whole Malvinas/Falkland Island dispute.

I feel I have the best of both worlds because of my dual citizenship but in the nearly 3 months that I've been here I've felt a bit homesick so I'd love to stay in touch with other expats and hopefully hear about their experiences.

Okay. I'm done rambling ... for now

Jorge

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JorgeJ Active member

38POSTS

14 years ago

Thank you so much!

Lisa519 New member

5POSTS

14 years ago

Welcome Jorge. I haven't noticed the personal space issue, expect when people need to kiss me when we meet and kiss me when we part. Still getting used to that!

Lisa

JorgeJ Active member

38POSTS

14 years ago

Hi Lisa,

Yes. I'm getting used to the kissing too. I tend to go for a hug when they reach out to kiss me which turns into something completely awkward. Our cheeks tend to press against one another. Then I feel odd and they feel odd.

Have you been in Argentina long?

JorgeJ Active member

38POSTS

14 years ago

P.S. I learned that there are two Starbucks in the province of Cordoba which I'm eager to go to. Apparently the owners are expats themselves who opened a franchise. There's also a TGIF restaurant in Buenos Aires which I hope to go to someday.

zambuco New member

6POSTS

13 years ago

Dear Jorge,

I hardly visit this page, but when I saw your post I totally sympathized! I was born in the US, went to boarding school in Florida, and, actually passed an exam in Spanish for my university degree. Nearly 20 years in Africa, lots of Portuguese, but decided I wanted the best part of my life to be in South America. I live in La Cumbre with a gorgeous view of the Sierras after all those years of sun and sand. Nobody around me speaks English, which is to be expected, so I get my "fix" from free internet TV. I get along ok in Spanish, but there is a lot of African Portuguese mixed in there, and after 18 years in school, I really do not like memorizing verb conjugations for the 3rd time. (First time was in French). Still, I live in a welcoming little community, and everyone tolerates my grammar mistakes, so it is a happy existence. Yes, after New York, the rush is off, people promise to come look at your plumbing but it takes a week... Never mind, you come from a great country with the advantage of seeing the outside world, so you can use this for your future. I hope you will settle in and enjoy where you are now. Cordoba to me is a bit too busy, but that is because I lived in many cities internationally when I was younger. I should imagine for you after New York and Florida that the restaurants in CBA are as disappointing as they are to me. I often make my own Thai and Mex at home, but then nobody to eat with as my friends think black pepper is spicy! Adjust, be happy, and if you are headed in the direction of La Cumbre, my direct email is michelle.buckland@gmail.com.

Kind regards,
Michelle

JorgeJ Active member

38POSTS

13 years ago

Dear Michelle:

Thank you for reaching out to me. I will e-mail you shortly.

Regards,

Jorge

peruvianprincess Member

12POSTS

13 years ago

Dear Jorge!

Such interesting story. I can only sympathize with you. I am about to do the same. After have been living in Sweden for the past 14 years i wanna come back to my "homecountry", i need to find my roots. I need this so desperatly but i am affraid of no getting use to, being dissapointed.
I am on my way to Peru, but this time it will take a little bit longer. I am in Foz do Iguazu right now but i'll head to Argentina soon, passing through Cordoba. I may stay there for 3 days. If you have time we could meet up for a beer. Let's keep in touch.
Wish you good luck!

Linda

JorgeJ Active member

38POSTS

13 years ago

#10

Linda,

Thank you. Feel free to reach out to me by e-mail. I'd like to meet and exchange expat experiences.

Best,

Jorge

ameliahlynch Member

2POSTS

13 years ago

#11

Hi Jorge!

I realize this is an older blog post but I just joined the Expat.com and was looking around. I'm from the Pennsylvania and moved here to Córdoba about two years ago, live with my boyfriend and don't really have any English speaking friends here. While I love it here, the culture everything, I could totally relate to your post - getting used to the personal space thing, missing American restaurants and stores, and trying for the love of God to sloooooow down my pace of life and with that, what become more understanding of the slower pace here. Guess it will just take some more time and patience! Hope you're doing well. Have things changed much, are you feeling better since you wrote this post? I wish you all the best!

Amelia

JorgeJ Active member

38POSTS

13 years ago

#12

Hi Amelia,

How are you? I'm glad to find someone who can relate to what I've been going through. The truth is that I have yet to get use to things here ... despite the fact that next month is my 1 year anniversary in Argentina. There is a facebook site which has expats that are living in Cordoba. That you might find helpful. Please let me know if you are interested and I will forward you the link.

ameliahlynch Member

2POSTS

13 years ago

#13

Hi Jorge!

Congrats on your one year "anniversary" of moving to Córdoba! Yes, that would be great to join the expat page on Facebook! Thanks a lot in advance!

Amelia

crapiola New member

7POSTS

13 years ago

#14

Could you post the link to the Facebook group here? My Google search for expats in Cordoba did not yield fruitful results.

JorgeJ Active member

38POSTS

13 years ago

#15

Sure thing! Here's the link! If for whatever reason it says you need to be invited into the group, contact me on facebook and I'll send you an invite into the group.

facebook.com/groups/54870589590/

my facebook
facebook.com/jorge.juarez.7758